When it comes to wiping our mouths and dirty hands, most of us don’t really put too much thought into the napkins we use. Like most of us, I look for napkins that are clean. The other day, I noticed a couple napkins in my car that I had taken when I visited a local Caribou Coffee shop. One had a thought-provoking question: What Do You Stay Awake For? The other napkin offered a writing prompt inviting us to write a really short novel…

I found these napkins amusing, clever and thought-provoking. For me coffee shops are a place where I can come up with ideas under the influence of the ever-almighty caffeine. These napkins offer me the opportunity to get some ideas flowing…provided that I look close enough to read the napkins.

It’s interesting to note that there are books devoted to things scribbled and drawn on napkins. I’m thinking specifically about Dan Roam’s The Back of the Napkin, where the book jacket goes on to say…”Used properly, a simple drawing on a humble napkin is more powerful than Excel or PowerPoint. It can help us crystallize ideas, think outside the box, and communicate in a way that other people simply get.”

How about you…have you written or drawn anything interesting on a napkin recently?